Celeb Photo 'Hack' Really a Sex Crime

posted by Neal Colgrass, Newser Staff
-
2 years ago

(NEWSER) – Jennifer Lawrence and the other celebrities who had their personal nude photos dumped online have not merely been "scrutinized" or "hacked"—they've been sexually violated for the whole world to see, writes Van Badham at the Guardian. As a sex crime, "it deserves the same social and legal punishment as meted out to stalkers and other sexual predators," she writes. "There are suggestions that prosecution may result not only for the hacker of the photos, but for those who view and share them. Good." Among other reactions:

To blame the victims for not storing the images safely is like saying women must dress conservatively, move in groups, "or what-have-you to lessen the chance that someone will attempt to assault them," writes Scott Mendelson at Forbes. A side note: The victims lost "in a business sense as well, if only because sadly an actress's most important asset is her body and the titillation that it theoretically brings."

It's ironic that people "vehemently protest a free Facebook Messenger app because we're outraged at reports that it can access our phone's numbers, and yet turn around and excuse the serving up of women's bodies for our own pleasure," writes Clementine Ford at Daily Life.